All My Loving
by icanbeperfectforyou
Summary: What did Henry do during A Summer in Ohio? Companion to A Summer in Ohio. Highly suggested you read that, though I guess it's not necessary. On hiatus, PM me for details.
1. Chapter 1

"It's time to go, Natalie!" Mr. Goodman's voice called. I gently unwrapped my arms from around her. Natalie grabbed her bag and headed out to my car, where I would be driving her and her dad to the airport.

I should probably explain what's happening here. Hi, I'm Henry. Natalie and her dad are flying out to Ohio for like two weeks to spend time with family that Nat's never even met before. She was, well, less than thrilled when she found out.

Natalie got into the passenger seat of my car. She angrily stared out the window. I started the car and we headed to the airport. Natalie didn't say anything. As we pulled up to a red light, I turned a little in my seat and took Nat's hand. She looked at me and our eyes met.

I had never seen her so sad before. She didn't really ever get sad. Usually when she got upset she just got really angry. Whenever she does get sad, she doesn't talk to anyone and shuts herself in her room and cries.

The cars began moving again. "Both hands on the wheel, Henry," Natalie said, pulling her hand away and turning back towards the window. I sighed.

"Nat, it's going to be fine. It's only two weeks," I said, trying to be comforting. It didn't work. She didn't reply. The rest of the ride was silent.

"We're here," I announced, pulling up to the front. Natalie's dad got out to get the suitcases. Natalie wiped her eyes and turned around.

"I'm going to miss you," she whispered. I gently put my hand on her face. "I love you," she added, which surprised me a little, because I'm usually the initiater in the 'I love you'.

"I'll call you and text you all the time," I reminded her. I leaned in and kissed her. "I love you," I murmured. Then there was a knock on the window. We jumped away from each other, a small smile growing on Natalie's face. Her dad looked a little angry. More than a little, actually.

Natalie stood up. "Bye," she said, leaving the car. I waved and smiled sadly as she walked into the airport.

Yeah, these two weeks were going to suck.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

It's not like going home was going to be any better. Nat was barely gone, and I already missed her probably way more than I should. My mom was happy about her leaving, because apparently I spend too much time with her. Mom doesn't like Natalie.

I placed the letter inside the envelope I had. That's right, I wrote a love letter to Natalie. I call it being romantic. Nat calls it being mushy.

My phone buzzed and I excitedly picked it up. It was Natalie.

_Hey, I made it to Ohio. Woohoo._

_ I miss you already, and you've only been gone a few hours. Hey...what's your cousin's address?_

She texted me the address, and I wrote it on the envelope._ Why?_ she asked.

_You'll see...;)_ I replied, trying to sound mysterious. She probably just thought I was dumb.

I sat down at my keyboard and ran my fingers over the keys. My mom didn't approve of me playing the piano, so a little keyboard was all I got. I grabbed a pen and some paper and decided to write Natalie a song. It's a lot easier said than done. I wonder if Nat's cousin has a piano. If she doesn't, Natalie would be pissed. She really wants to get into Yale.

_Rachel=annoying_ Natalie texted me. I smiled. I looked over at the picture of us at the Spring Formal dance that I always kept next to my bed. She was so beautiful. She is still so beautiful. I just love her so much. I don't deserve a girl as wonderful as her. But here I am. I'm still afraid she's going to find someone who's better than I am in Ohio. But I can't think of that. I wonder if Natalie saw what I put in her suitcase yet.

I heard my door slowly creak open. I sighed and started to turn around. "What, Mom?" I began, but it wasn't my mom. My little sister was standing there. Technically, she's my half-sister. Cecilia. She's almost three years old.

See, my parents got divorced when I was young. Then a few years ago, my mom got remarried. So now I have a thirteen year old stepbrother, who's here this week, another little half-sister named Sophia, who's six, and then Cecilia. Our house is always loud.

"Hey, Cecilia," I said. Cecilia was my favorite sibling. Her name is from the patron saint of music. I wonder if there's a Saint Henry. What would he be the patron saint of? Pot and jazz music?

I lifted Cecilia up onto the seat. I played a few notes for her. She giggled and hit the keys a few random times. She was definitely going to be a great jazz pianist some day.

My phone buzzed with a new text._ I get to go to a pool party w/ Rachel's glee club. Kill me now._

I didn't know what a glee club was. But I did know how much Nat hates parties. So do I, actually.

_It'll be fine._ I replied. _Besides, they'll get to see you in a swimsuit. ;)_ I hoped my cheering up worked.

_F U, Henry._ At least she was back to swearing again.

** A/N: I'm back! This is what happened in A Summer in Ohio, in Henry's POV! What did he do? Stick around and find out! Review please! Was it in character? Did you like the first person or no? Constructive criticism! :D Bye!**


	2. Chapter 2

Natalie was going to a pool party. Natalie was going to make friends. Natalie was going to get to do stuff she loves, like swimming, and have an awesome two weeks in Ohio.

While her boyfriend was stuck in rainy Seattle playing Barbies with his two little sisters.

It wasn't, like, a choice _I _made. My mom made me do it. That seems to be an excuse I use a lot. But it's true! I have to do everything. My stepbrother doesn't have to play Barbies. Maybe it's because he has friends. I could have friends, if I tried. All the other boys just think playing piano is girly. Also, I'm dating Natalie, who's basically known as a freak from a freak family. I am perfectly okay with people not liking me as long as I'm with Nat.

My phone vibrated with a new text. _Henry, there's beer_ it read.

_Don't._ was my simple reply. I trusted her though. I knew she wouldn't drink anything. If she did, I wouldn't be there to save her this time. That was a very scary thought.

I went back to the dollhouse with Sophia and Cecilia. They were doing some sort of princess wedding thing. My doll was the prince. If the kids from school found out that I played Barbies along with the piano thing...I would never be able to go to school again. Luckily it was summertime.

After a few minutes of playing, I realized I hadn't got any text back from Natalie. Did something terrible happen? All possibilities flew through my mind as I quickly texted her.

_Natalie? What's happening?_

_ They tried to get me to drink. _Oh my God something terrible _had _happened.

_And? _I, being the smooth, cool guy I am, hid all my fear in a one word text.

_And I yelled and screamed and shoved a girl into a pool._ Yeah. That was the Nat I knew. So it wasn't bad, necessarily. I mean, Nat does this kind of stuff a lot. She's kind of a loud, angry person. Don't tell her I said that.

_Nat?_

_ What, Henry._ So basically she was really angry right now. But I guess she had every right to be. The kids at the party didn't know her past, not to mention the fact that she had to go half-way across the country on a trip she didn't want to go on, to be with family she never even met.

_I love you._ I texted. Nothing wrong with reminding her every once in a while.

"I have to go do something now," I said to my sisters as I left their room to go to mine. I waited a while for Natalie to reply. She didn't. I really hoped they had a piano there. Otherwise, Nat would probably, like, destroy their house.

After waiting for quite some time, my phone started ringing. "Hey," I answered after barely one ring.

"Hey," came Natalie's voice, sounding flat and sad.

"What happened?" I asked.

"Well, some kid brought beer, and some girl offered me some, and I said no, so this bitch takes the cup and spills it all over me on purpose, and then I started yelling at her about how she didn't understand what horrible things that kind of shit can do to people, and then I shoved her into the pool, and I ran to the car and Rachel drove us home, and I sat down and tried to play the piano, and I kept fucking up so I ran upstairs and called you," Natalie explained quickly, sounding really angry.

"Uh," was my reply. "Are you okay?"

"No," Nat said. "But when am I ever?"

"Yeah," I said, not really sure of what to say.

"They have a Steinway," Natalie said.

"What?"

"You know, a Steinway. Really nice. Maybe a little over a hundred years old. Real ivory keys," she explained.

"Nice. Grand piano?" I asked,

"Yeah," Natalie said, sounding a little excited.

"Sounds a lot better than this crappy keyboard I have," I said, glancing over at the little piano in the corner of my bedroom.

"It is," Natalie agreed. "So, how had your day been?"

"I played Barbies with Sophia and Cecilia," I said. She laughed.

"How manly of you!" she said, still laughing.

"Hey! I'm very manly and tough," I protested.

"Right, because all tough guys play with fashion dolls," she giggled, calming down a little.

"It wasn't a fashion doll! I was playing the prince!" I explained. She started laughing again.

"Because that's so much better," she said. I could tell she was smiling. Suddenly, she stopped laughing. "Just a second, Henry," she said, all happiness gone from her voice. Their was a rustle as she lowered the phone. I could barely hear muffled voices. "What do you want," I could hear Natalie say.

"Well, I was going to record my daily video of me singing and I was wondering if you would like to be my audience," a cheerful voice came. Was that Nat's cousin?

"Sure. Why not," I heard Natalie say. She lifted the phone back up. "Henry, I have to go. Talk to you later. Bye," she said.

"I love you," I said sweetly.

"...Love you too," she said. Then she was gone.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

It was about 11:15 at night, and I was still wide awake. Maybe it was the pot. Anyway, I was trying to beat my Zelda game again, but I was really sucking.

My phone lit up. That was weird. It had to be, like, two o'clock in the morning in Ohio. Still, I checked it.

_Thank you for always loving me._ the text read. I didn't know why Nat was texting, or what that really meant, but I still appreciated it. I smiled a little. I wouldn't text her back because of the time, but I hoped Natalie knew, that wherever she was, whatever she was doing, that I would always be here for her, to love her and take care of her.

Always.


	3. Chapter 3

Right as I walked down the stairs into the kitchen, my mom began talking. "Henry, can you take the girls out? They're getting on my nerves," she said.

"Uh, sure, what-" I began but she cut me off.

"I need these-" she handed me a shopping list, "from Costco, and these-" another list, "from Target. Now go." She handed me some money.

I grabbed Sophia and Cecilia, got them into their carseats, and off we drove.

"Henry? Can we get the cart with the car on the front?" asked Sophia from the back where she was sitting.

"Sure, whatever you want," I said, not really paying attention to her. She cheered.

We pulled into the Costco parking lot. I got the girls the car shopping cart they wanted and we set off in search of the items my mom needed.

"Henry, can we get some candy?" Sophia begged.

"No, Mom said to get what's on the list, and there's no candy on here..." I started, but I was cut off.

"Henry?" A voice came from behind me. I turned around.

"Uh, hey, Mrs. Goodman," I said, surprised.

"Fancy seeing you here!" Natalie's mom said. "Who's this?" she asked, gesturing towards the cart.

"Those are my half sisters, Cecilia and Sophia," I explained.

"Well, it's been such a long time! How have you been?" Mrs. Goodman asked.

"I've been doing well. Nat's in Ohio now, so. How are you doing?" I replied.

"Oh, I've been great! It's taken some getting used to, you know, changing everything up. But it's definitely getting better. How are you and Natalie? As a couple?" She explained.

I nodded. "We're good. Awesome, actually. Probably the best we've ever been. Nat's happy, I'm happy, we love each other, so yeah," I rambled.

Mrs. Goodman smiled. "That's wonderful. Sometime, when Natalie gets back, you two should come over for dinner!"

"Yeah, sure," I agreed. I doubted Natalie would agree to that.

"Well, I'll let you get back to your shopping. Bye!" she walked away. We continued with our shopping.

After we got what we needed from Costco, we headed over to Target. I put Cecilia in the front of the cart.

"I want to sit in the front," Sophia whined. I knelt down to her level.

"You don't want to sit in the front. That's where-" I dropped my voice. "_That's where babies sit._"

"I'm not a baby..." Sophia said slowly. "I'm six years old! I'm a big kid!"

I nodded. "And big kids get to sit in the cart!" I lifted her up and placed her in the cart.

As we walked in the store, Sophia spoke up again. She's very chatty. "Can we get a toy?"

"Toy!" Cecilia echoed excitedly. I sighed.

"Well, there's no toys on the list...But I guess you can each get one toy," the girls cheered. I sighed again, knowing I would have to pay for the toys with my own money.

We headed over to the toy aisle, where I let the girls out. They seemed to be in Heaven. I remembered having that feeling, as a little kid, surrounded by toys. Now all I got was disapproving glares. Apparently, being seventeen and shopping with two little girls makes people think strange things.

"Henry! Look at this!" Sophia was shouting. She was looking at a bunch of teddy bears that had shirts with names on them.

"Look! It says 'Sophia'!" she said proudly. I smiled as I looked at the bears. I found one that said 'Henry' on it, and then one that said 'Natalie' on it. I was definitely getting them.

"Is that the toy you want?" I asked. She shook her head. She walked off to find different toys.

After a long time of looking, the girls finally picked out toys. They both chose some kind of Barbie doll. We were able to return to the shopping and got what we needed. So we headed home.

When I got home I went right back up to my room. My phone buzzed. I was excited because Natalie hadn't texted me all day. So I quickly opened up the text.

It was a picture of Natalie. She was wearing her blue dress, so she had seen what I put in her suitcase. Her hair was straightened and her face was perfectly made up. She had a huge grin on her face. She looked perfect. I mean, she always looks perfect, but she looked absolutely beautiful.

_Looking good. ;) _I texted her.

_Henry, you abuse the wink face. And all emoticons._

_ You don't like them? :'(_

_ Just stop it, Henry._

_ D: Well maybe you text my name too much. I know I'm Henry already._

_ Shut up, you love it when I say your name._

_ :( Why are you so abusive to me?_

For a while, there was no reply to my text. Then I got a reply.

_I have to go for a bit Rachel and Kurt want me to play piano!_

Rachel was her cousin, but I had no clue who Kurt was. But as long as Natalie was happy, I was happy.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

An hour or so later, and I was sitting at my computer, begging Natalie to ask her cousin if she could Skype me.

_Just ask her. Please? :) _I asked, knowing that she couldn't resist the power of the smiley face.

_Fine._ I actually cheered out loud at this one.

_Yay! :D_

In a few minutes, my computer said that I was getting a call from _NatalieLovesHenry._ I smirked. I bet Natalie loved having her cousin see that. I so made the right choice in her screenname. Then again, my screenname was _HenryLovesNatalie,_ so I guess I didn't have much room to speak.

Natalie's beautiful face filled my computer screen. I started grinning uncontrollably. "Hey," I said. Sitting next to Nat was a girl who looked about the same age as Nat.

"Hey," she replied. She started smiling, too. "Oh, this is Rachel," she pointed at the girl next to her. Rachel beamed and waved. But then she stopped, and seemed focused on something in the background.

"Is that a-bong?" she asked, pointing behind me. I quickly shoved it to the ground as Natalie sighed.

"Uh, no," I stuttered.

"I see you've found a way to entertain yourself," Natalie said, raising an eyebrow.

"I wasn't smoking...I was, uh, cleaning," I tried, but it didn't work.

"Right," Natalie said sarcastically.

"Anyway, so I saw your mom at Costco today," I said. Natalie instantly looked worried at the mention of her mom. It probably wasn't a good idea to bring it up.

"You didn't-I mean, she didn't, freak out again, did she?" Nat asked quietly.

"No, she was fine," I assured her. "She was nice, actually. Just wondering how I was and how we were doing."

We talked for a really long time. Natalie looked happy. Rachel asked us stuff. She seemed nice. Ohio didn't seem all that bad, either. After hours, it got to late. Not for me or Nat, but apparently Rachel had a schedule where she went to bed and woke up at the same time.

"Love you, Henry," Natalie said smiling. I still got butterflies when she said that.

"Love you too. Oh, and check your mail tomorrow. Uh, Rachel's mail," I added.

Natalie looked confused. "Why?"

"Bye!" I said, and then it was done. She was going to be thinking about that all night.

But it would all be worth it when she got my letter.

**A/N: One year ago today. Moment of silence for **_**Next to Normal.**_


	4. Chapter 4

I stared, dumbfounded, at my phone. Natalie had just texted me telling me that she would be spending the day at the mall with some of Rachel's friends. Natalie. At the mall. With other people. Natalie wasn't a big shopping person. Then again, Natalie wasn't a big friend person either, but apparently she was just Miss Popularity in Ohio.

I walked downstairs to see my stepbrother sitting on the couch playing some kind of violent video game.

"I thought you were hanging out with your friends," I said.

"I am," Paul motioned to the headset in his ear. "No-no-dang it!" The game ended. He took off the headset. He turned to face me. "Shouldn't you be, like, with your girlfriend or something?"

"Nat's in Ohio for two weeks," I explained. Paul turned off the TV and I flopped down next to him on the couch.

"So," he said. I never really talked to Paul, but he came here every other week.

"So," I repeated. "You're going into eighth grade, right?"

"Yeah," Paul said.

I nodded. "Cool."

"I guess," he said, looking away. "Hey, um, you've got a girlfriend and all, so, how do you tell a girl you like her?" He looked up nervously.

"Shouldn't you ask your dad this?" I asked.

He shrugged. "He's old."

I smiled. "Well, you just have to go up to them, and ask them out."

"Is that what you did with Natalie?" Paul asked.

"Not really. I invited her here, then when she was over, I tried to kiss her, and then she tried to run away, but I told her that I would be perfect for her, and...yeah," I explained.

Paul gave me a weird look. "Okay then..."

I sighed. "Just invite her to do whatever it is thirteen year olds like to do, with just you and her, and I guess it'll be obvious if she likes you. I'm not exactly the best guy to ask this 'cause I've really only gone out with Nat."

"Thanks, anyway," Paul stood up. "Wanna go play basketball at the park? The guys are meeting me there later."

"Sure," I said. Paul and I didn't do much together, considering Paul actually had friends and I was always with Natalie. So we went to the park.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

After shooting some hoops for a bit, and Paul basically kicking the crap out of me at it, a few guys came with a few girls. Paul smiled at a girl with dark brown hair and green eyes. He strode over to her.

"Hey, Kelly, I was wondering if later maybe you wanted to go get ice cream with me or something?" Kelly looked at her friends and giggled.

"That sounds like fun!" She said. Paul smiled.

"Cool," he said. He walked over to me. "What does it mean if she giggled?" he whispered.

I laughed. "I think it means she likes you back," Paul looked relieved.

"Thanks," he said. Then he ran over to his friends.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

I slammed the keys on my keyboard, like Nat would have. Why didn't anyone tell me trying to write a song would be so _hard?_ I needed a break. Find some inspiration.

I grabbed my notebook and pen and walked down into the living room and flopped onto the couch. I flipped through the TV channels to see if I could find anything worth watching. I ended up watching _Say Anything._

I tried to write Natalie's song. I stared at the blank page, wanting something to come to me. Something beautiful. I couldn't find the right mix of notes. The mix of notes that said _Natalie._

My phone buzzed. I got excited. Natalie was back from her day at the mall. That sounds so weird.

_Just saw Rachel making out w/ her bf. Words can't explain the creepiness I am currently feeling._

_ How thrilling. Guess what I'm doing? :D_

_ What, Henry. Please tell me. I'm dying to know._

_ You could have just asked without the sarcasm. _

_ Really, tell me. Watching Friends? _ She got my letter? Did she like it?

_ You got my letter? :D What did you think? _I waited a few minutes and still there was no reply. I was about to text Nat again when finally she texted.

_ ...it was adorable._

_ Yay! Anyway, I'm working on a super secret present for you!_

_ Henry..._

_ Nat..._

_ Don't ever change, Henry._

My phone began ringing. I paused the movie and answered. "Hey."

"Hey," Natalie said.

"So," I began. "Making out?"

Natalie giggled a little. "Yeah. According to Mercedes, that's what they do all day."

"Mercedes?" I asked. Wasn't that a car name?

"One of Rachel's friends," Nat explained.

"Um, does Rachel even know you're there? Or is she too busy?" I asked.

"Oh, right, I should probably let her know," there was a loud _thud _that sounded like she hit the wall. "RACHEL! I'M HERE NOW!"

I began laughing. Natalie laughed a little too. "So, what are you doing?" she asked.

"Other than working on your present? I'm watching _Say Anything."_

She snorted. "_Say Anything_? Really, Henry?"

"Yeah! Lloyd and Diane are just like us. The handsome, romantic underacheiver and the beautiful genius!" I said.

"That might work if you were actually athletic," Natalie teased.

"Let's face it, you would love it if I held a boombox outside your bedroom window."

"If you could actually make that happen without getting arrested or having my dad murder you, I would love you forever."

"I was kinda hoping you'd love me forever regardless, but if that's what it takes," I shrugged. "Challenge accepted."

"You know what I mean, Henry," Natalie sighed. "So what did you do today?"

"I hung out with eighth graders like the cool guy I am. I worked on your present. Oh! You got my letter! How was it?" I asked.

"I told you, it was adorable. I really miss you," she said quietly.

"I miss you too. And I love you."

"I love you too," she said. And everything was perfect.

**A/N: So sorry this took so long! I don't know who I'm apologizing too, only about five people are reading this according to my stats. But I had a really bad head cold and I felt like crap! I mean, I still do, but just less crappy now. So yeah bye.**


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